Individual Action
The overproduction and consumption of goods and other materials can be extremely detrimental to human health, living organisms and ecosystems, and greatly contribute to the climate crisis, specifically in relation to greenhouse gas emissions as discussed on the Systems Thinking page. Materials are discarded at an alarming and increasing rate and that waste is seriously mismanaged, leading to the buildup of garbage in landfills and dumps and an increase in pollution that alters or damages ecosystems. An additional attempt to discard waste materials is through incineration, which can pollute the air and cause respiratory issues. Individual habit changes regarding overconsumption and production of waste, as well as making adjustments to how that waste is managed is an essential first step to combating the issue of waste buildup in the world.
When a person decides to make a commitment to living a more sustainable lifestyle, it can feel very empowering at times, knowing that you’re doing your part to make a difference in the world and do as little damage as possible. However, on the flip side, there comes a time when one might feel as if their individual actions don’t really matter because there is so much damage being done on a larger scale, it seems impossible to outweigh and overcome. These moments of doubt are extremely disheartening, but it is essential to remember that individual action is the first step to inspiring larger scale change. If each individual can convince one person to follow their lead in a few more sustainable habits, the effect will no doubt be recognized. Our individual efforts are in no way inconsequential, especially seeing as the individual contributions to environmental degradation are growing, while industrial contributions have declined.
The first way that an individual can be an agent of change is to commit to a change in habits. Being conscious about the decisions we make and the consequences that might follow our actions can lead to a shift towards more sustainable habits. Examples of these sustainable habits could be recycling, using reusable bags and water bottles, eating vegan, or using an electric vehicle, to name a few. A second approach to being an agent of change is a situation when an individual’s acts are so significant that it leads to transformation and inspires others, resulting in large-scale change such as policy. Our small steps can inspire real change with the power of virtue. To give an example through a psychological approach, if someone is demonized for something like not recycling, they may buckle down, act stubborn, and still not want to do it. However, if someone is taught that it is the right thing to do and wants to be seen as moral and virtuous, there is more incentive to recycle.
There are numerous ways for an individual to limit the amount of waste that they personally contribute to the issue. Using reusable water bottles, bags, straws, and other alternatives to single use plastics is a great place to start. Avoiding single use materials is very important to avoid as they hold no value in being used once before being discarded. That being said, recycling the materials that are able to be recycled helps to reduce the amount of plastic pollution. Additionally, there are many types of food waste that are discarded because people aren’t aware of how to properly manage their waste. Close to 25% of the items in a kitchen trash could be removed from the stream of waste if they were simply composted in someone’s yard. Things like fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, lettuce, potato and banana peels, grass clippings, leaves, and so much more can be composted instead. One way a person can avoid supporting overproduction and consumption of material goods is to donate things they don’t use but are still in good condition, and buy “new” things from second hand thrift stores. This helps keep items in the cycle of use until they are unable to be used because they’ve done their job for so long. These habits are a great place to start towards limiting individual waste contributions.
The Environmental Protection Agency provides a very extensive list of tips and suggestions for people to follow to reduce waste because the best way to address the waste mismanagement issue is to produce less waste. Less waste produced is less waste that needs to be managed. The list includes tips for home, students and schools, work, communities, travel, and holidays and events. See below for examples of home tips and visit the Tools for Action page for the full list.
Lawn and Garden:
- Compost at home with food scraps, yard trimmings, and organic waste to create a compost pile. Add it to soil to increase water retention, decrease erosion, and keep organic materials out of landfills
- Raise the cutting height of your lawnmower. This keeps grass roots shaded and cooler, keeps weeds from growing and reduces the need for watering
- “Grasscycle”. Leave clippings on your lawn to return nutrients to the soil rather and bagging them and sending them to landfills
Home improvement:
- Use insulation made from recycled paper, glass, and other recovered materials
- Properly store, clean and care for your materials such as tools, outdoor furniture, and toys. Keeping them in good condition will extend their life and keep them out of landfills
- Turn off lights and appliances when possible to help them last longer
- Purchase rechargeable batteries or ones with a low mercury content
- Have a yard sale rather than dispose of old goods
- Use newspaper as a wrapping material
With so many people either skeptical or careless about climate issues, we must heavily rely on individual action to inspire others one on one through serious discussion and educating others. We may feel like there are deniers, or as Katharine Hayhoe, author of Saving Us, likes to call them, Dismissives, around us but the reality is that 93% of people haven’t completely written off being open to learning about these issues. This means that there is hope for 93% of people to make individual change. If one person inspired one person in the 93% and they continued the pattern, and 100% of the 93% made changes to more sustainable habits, that would spark immense change.
Click HERE to read the next page: Tools for Action
